Merchandising strip devices are well known in the art to support volumes of generally small, high-volume merchandise in addition to those that can be carried by the conventional shelving. Such devices are particularly well suited for the display and presentation of impulse and point-of-purchase items.
To meet the variety of needs and desires for such clip strip display devices, a broad spectrum of such devices have been designed, manufactured and sold.
Among the many strip merchandising devices that have been suggested is that described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,386,916, to Valiulis that describes an adjustable strip merchandising device comprising an elongated plastic strip that is holed at an upper end thereof so that the strip may be vertically suspended from an existing shelf and a plurality of individual sections that are divided by transversely extending score lines that permit sections of the strip to be folded and reattached to the suspending member. Merchandise display is provided by a plurality of individual axially spaced suspension hooks that face upwardly and are sandwiched between downwardly facing and outer stabilizing fingers. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,718,627, to Fast and 5,553,721 to Gebka, teach substantially identical variations of the clip strip arrangement of Valiulis.
Another common variety of clip strip, is that of the type taught by U.S. Pat. No. 4,767,012 to Simmons which describes a strip hanger specifically useful for supporting bags of potato chips and similar snack products and which includes an elongate base upon one side of which is formed in longitudinally extending fashion a plurality of individual lever portions. The lever portions are each provided by elongated members that are arranged at spaced apart distances from the base by a central pivot or fulcrum point. Pressing on a rear side of the lever causes a corresponding front side to pivot outwardly and an inwardly flanged portion to unseat from an associated groove defined within the face of the body. When released, the inwardly flanged portion pinches an edge of the product bag or the like allowing it to suspend from the strip.
Other similar such devices are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,546,943 and 4,497,464 to Fast, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,683,003 to Gebka, 5,957,422 to Shea, 5,199,578 to Pendergraph et al, 4,573,590 to Ellis and U.S. Design Pat. Nos. Des. 367,574 to Werner and Des. 309,252 to Crowley.
While all of the foregoing provide useful merchandising display devices, they share a number of common shortcomings. Primarily, their design and construction does not permit the display of a plurality of items that individually weigh more than a few ounces. This is particularly true of the clip-type devices described by Simmons in U.S. Pat. No. 4,767,012, however most of the prior art devices lack the physical strength to support heavier sale items. Many of the devices provide open hooks for the attachment of the displayed items. This arrangement often results in the accidental removal of more than one display item particularly when the item removed lies below and overlying item much to the dismay, dissatisfaction and embarrassment of the customer.